See a photo of Kindra, her bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, and Part 3.
Q&A with Kindra Hall, Questions 6 and 7:
Q: I’m intrigued by your wedding-story work, and I also read and loved your own stories of your relationship with your relatively new husband. I’ve never seen/heard stories at a wedding. Did you originate the idea? How easy is it to sell couples on the idea? (I would imagine you get a lot of business through word-of-mouth — people seeing stories shared at weddings and wanting them at their own.)
A: This was an original idea — an accidental idea if you will. It came
about as Michael, my husband, and I were planning our wedding. With storyteller Donald Davis as our officiant, and with my background in story, we thought stories would be a much more effective way to communicate what was important to us as a couple going forward as husband and wife than a handful of verses. It was a very natural decision for us, and I certainly wasn’t intending it to become a business. It was actually my wedding photographer who suggested it. When she posted our photos online, she included our stories with rave reviews — and she recognized that there was a need in the market.
Currently, all of my clients have come through referrals. They have seen my blog or heard about me through some of my wedding industry friends or previous clients. With these clients, I don’t have to do much “selling,” as they have already seen the value. As this business grows, I’m sure I will face the challenges that come with offering a service not many people have considered. I plan to use the success stories of my other couples to illustrate the value of the product and service I offer.
Q: Since many of my readers are involved with organizational storytelling/business narrative, I wondered if you could talk a bit about what aspect of this topic you researched for your master’s thesis. To what extent do you have the opportunity to do work with storytelling in organizations currently?
A: My thesis was on the role of stories in organizations — particularly the role they play in the various phases of the socialization process. Basically, the findings revealed that stories never stop impacting members of the organization. Managers, CEOs, companies, as a whole need to be very aware of the stories being told by, about, and especially within the organization. There is no room for laziness here — laziness can get expensive.
I have worked with organizations in the past to teach the different ways stories can be used. Now, I am currently offering half and full day workshops centered around how individuals and companies as a whole can, not only use stories, but how they can find them, hone them, and tell them effectively.